[STEAM] All The Dark Pictures Anthology games, ranked: Where does Directive 8020 place?

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Image by Supermassive Games Little Hope was...an interesting time. What started as a trippy time-warping entry that threw you into multiple timelines became all the more confusing by the time the credits rolled. Its focus was the coven and three timelines, bringing the cast together in more ways than one. This entry felt as if American Horror Story: Coven wasn't designed like a soap opera. Sure, it had campy and infuriating characters that didn't get much better as time went on, but Little Hope included what was by far the most interesting mechanic to go hand-in-hand with Dark Pictures' personality trait menu.

Choices mattered both in the short- and long-term, where your character was molded based on your decisions, and their fate determined by it. This Dark Picture was at its scariest when taken at face value. Similar to Directive 8020,

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, yet there was one big problem. Whether the characters lived or died didn't matter, for the reveal was so bad that it could inspire a new M. Night Shyamalan movie. And if there's anything we've learned from him, it's that twists aren't always needed.

2) Directive 8020

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Screenshot by Destructoid A sci-fi adventure that takes inspiration from The Thing and Alien,

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takes elements from its predecessors and polishes them to near perfection. Problems arise from its clumsy narrative that successfully hides

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, ensuring you won't figure it out until they've got you right where they want you.

While Directive 8020 plays it safe with their likable cast, the lack of character arcs, and ridiculous notion to try and make repetitive stealth gameplay appealing, weakened a title that had the potential to go head-to-head against the titan that is Until Dawn. Replayability is at its highest, and while the game's conclusions are Christopher Nolan-worthy, it sadly lets itself down in its execution. It's great that Supermassive Games are switching things up and being experimental, but stealth isn't the right play in an interactive horror that's supposed to build tension to instill fear.

1) House of Ashes

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Image by Supermassive Games House of Ashes stands above the rest as the best Dark Picture. While the supernatural makes its grand entrance, this entry is action-packed with fantastic character arcs and a whole lot of bloody chaos. Paced like a blockbuster, House of Ashes is the spectacle of season one and feels most similar to Until Dawn with its cinematic atmosphere and how the narrative is handled in an addictive and satisfying manner.

House of Ashes blends a hyper-realistic setting of a military shooter—a throwback to Battlefield Bad Company and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare—with realistic dialogue and flawed characters pitted against an otherworldly nightmare. Until Dawn set the impossibly high standard with its decision-making and reactive gameplay, but House of Ashes is the closest we've ever had to reaching the same heights. A more folklore and alien take on vampires, House of Ashes has everything you could possibly need in a horror title that plays like a movie.

Dark Pictures Anthology games in chronological order

Season one

Game

Release Date

Characters

Subgenre

Man of Medan

August 30th, 2019

Alex
Brad
Conrad
Fliss
Julia

Paranormal

Little Hope

October 30, 2020

Andrew
Angela
Daniel
John
Taylor

Supernatural

House of Ashes

October 22, 2021

Eric
Jason
Nick
Rachel
Salim

Alien

The ****** in Me

November 18, 2022

Charlie
Erin
Jamie
Kate
Mark

Slasher

Season two

Game

Release Date

Characters

Subgenre

Directive 8020

May 12, 2026

Cernan
Cooper
Eisele
Stafford
Young

Alien

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